Both teams won their last fixture, both against teams who are near the bottom of the table, and there is a sense that a win for either side in this game could be the springboard needed to push on and secure Premier League survival.
The big team news for the home side is regarding our attack as Shola Ameobi misses out through injury to be replaced by Leon Best who makes his first Premier League start in the black and white stripes.
There is no live UK coverage of this game, although if you happen to stumble upon any links where a fellow Toon fan can watch the match online then please feel free to share it with us and leave a link to it in the comments section below.
If you would like to read a more detailed background of the fixture including injury news, form guides and a bit of a ‘stat-attack’ for both sides, then please feel free to read my match report.
Also, I’d like to apologise for the relative shoddyness of this article, and the relative lateness of it. As you all know, this place has not long opened up so it is resembling a bit of a mess at the moment, kind of like when you move into a new house. It will get there in the end though.
Team news is as follows…..
Newcastle: Steve Harper, Danny Simpson, Steven Taylor, Fabricio Coloccini, Jose Enrique, Joey Barton, Cheik Tiote, Kevin Nolan, Jonas Gutierrez, Peter Lovenkrands, Leon Best.
Subs: Tim Krul, Shane Ferguson, James Perch, Mike Williamson, Danny Guthrie, Wayne Routledge, Nile Ranger.
West Ham: Rob Green, James Tomkins, Matthew Upson, Tal Ben-Haim, Danny Gabbidon, Freddy Sears, Scott Parker, Mark Noble, Radoslav Kovac, Frederic Piquionne, Carlton Cole.
Subs: Ruud Boffin, Winston Reid, Valon Behrami, Jonathon Spector, Zavon Hines, Pablo Barrera, Victor Obinna.
Howay the lads!
Or smell like **** and eat oot of bins…
CC(Quote)
should of been 6
Johno Toon(Quote)
What happened there…
CC(Quote)
oh Ranger Lad
Big Dave(Quote)
FSC (I don’t get + either). It starts at 5pm eastern.
Don’t forget the FA match on Saturday. FSC is actually showing it live.
MDS(Quote)
and still ranger can’t score! haha who cares, i’m mcloven it!
NewkieBrown(Quote)
If we win our game in hand we are level on points with Sunderland, do ppl think we will get as much praise as them or will we still be lucky??
raffo(Quote)
So, looks like we move into 8th spot tonight. Do West Ham and Liverpool lose managers tonight?
NorCal Toonfan(Quote)
Shrews-Haha, I wouldn’t mate, I’d imagine i’m one of the babies on here like!
The hammers on 606 (it’s a terrible board but i had a browse for a laugh) are STILL banging on about being down 5-0 to an “average” Newcastle side. They need to take a look at themselves and stop wondering how they’re losing to such a terrible team. Here’s a guess lads, because you’re bloody awful and we’re not.
Ross(Quote)
Ranger needs to keep his head up tho , he could and can still grab himself a goal here
Johno Toon(Quote)
we’ll still be lucky
Big Dave(Quote)
What happened Dave – missed a sitter?
geordie deb(Quote)
I have to think Hodgsen is gone…
MDS(Quote)
Throw in chelsea as well 🙂
Johno Toon(Quote)
Yeah it was a bad miss deb , but as i said he needs to keep his head up , we could still create a few chances for him this game
Johno Toon(Quote)
two guys getting the sack in the morning l/pool,w/ham,job for hoots 🙂
icedog(Quote)
don’t have a stream so canaae watch the game live, but I don’t care anymore 5-0 up it’s in the bag !
For the Hammers fans…5-0 down to an “average” Newcastle side…we know where the term “delusional” belongs….
Munich Mag(Quote)
Hell, even their owner said that Grant inherited a “Relegated” team. Sure they weren’t last year, but they had points low enough last year to be in a typical relegation zone…so…not sure who they think they are.
NorCal Toonfan(Quote)
Debs open net horror show 🙁 dont know how he managed it.
I just think he will move on pnce he gets one under his belt
Big Dave(Quote)
Would rather see Hoots take over west ham when they are in the championship. Not fair on him to be the one who takes them down.
Micky Toon(Quote)
Didn’t think about them, but I suppose so.
NorCal Toonfan(Quote)
well done Harper
Big Dave(Quote)
A bad miss!? Blimey he was in the easiest scoring position i’ve seen all season, makes his miss at Chelsea (cup) look forgiveable 🙂 Ah i’m only messing though, i’m in too good a mood to be critical.
NewkieBrown(Quote)
ben haim deserves that card the dirt bag
Big Dave(Quote)
mackems 1 nowt up
richietoon(Quote)
Tiote Hamstring aswell 🙁
Big Dave(Quote)
tiote off?
Johno Toon(Quote)
“this is newcastle were talking about. not man u not chelsea not arsenal but NEWCASTLE! and we are getting smashed..
avram please save some dignity and walk!!”
That’s the latest one mate. That average newcastle side that have put 6 past villa, 5 past Sunderland, beaten and drawn with Chelsea, beaten Arsenal and Everton away and are now putting 5 past the wonderful hammers whilst sitting in 8th. A long way from the Hammers’ 19th. Average 😉
Ross(Quote)
Tiote straight down the tunnel. Nee subs so we’re down to 10 men. Lets hope we keep a clean sheet.
Ross(Quote)
we got no mure subs left ;S
NewkieBrown(Quote)
we looked a bit stretched with the 10 men and a few of our players look as if they gave everything they had and a bit more
Big Dave(Quote)
Hope Tiote is ok…hamstring injuries are a bit tricky…
Munich Mag(Quote)
whats happened to tiote?
The Goose(Quote)
aye a clean sheet and that tiote will be alright! been an absolute masterclass, alongside colo whos been beautiful..and somehow-Best as well :). Harps has earned the no.1 as well imo, let him keep it for now and Krul can get some games in the f.a cup
NewkieBrown(Quote)
Hope Tiote’s ok – he’s a beast
geordie deb(Quote)
Agree Micky Toon, least he deserves
geordie deb(Quote)
fuk we were lucky there come on lads we need a clean sheet 3 mins to hang in
Big Dave(Quote)
Where’s toonsy at tonight ?? Test driving his new porsche ?
Munich Mag(Quote)
sorting out the video highlights if he knows whats good for him 😉
richietoon(Quote)
howay 5-0
Big Dave(Quote)
brilliant performance by the toon-calls for a night out on the town 😀
NewkieBrown(Quote)
Great result!
Johno Toon(Quote)
Well that was fun
CC(Quote)
dead right richietoon…look forward to those highlights mate..
few people missing tonight…surprising really…..
Munich Mag(Quote)
I was going to say something else then I remembered Lady Deb was on 🙁
Big Dave(Quote)
luvvly jubbly…..whey I’m away for a Madrid Kebap..later lads.HWTL
richietoon(Quote)
pity about Wolves turning Chewlsi over…they stink at the moment…
Munich Mag(Quote)
Fair play to our boys, fantastic result. Luckily i’m typing and not talking given the fact I have a mouthful of my own hat currently thanks to a Leon Best hat trick. Brilliant performance from him by the looks of things and I have to say i’d have never in a million years touted him for 3. Well done big lad.
He becomes the third of our lads to get a hat trick, this season.
Ross(Quote)
get stuck in RT …youz’ve deserved it Tapas and a pint luverly !!
Munich Mag(Quote)
never stopped ya before 😉
richietoon(Quote)
Great result, i was impressed by Leon Best. Well done to him, he really stepped up to the plate tonight
The Goose(Quote)
Good result. Harps cemented his place in the team too. Hope Tiote is ok we need him against 5under1and.
Micky Toon(Quote)
Without getting too carried away or been accused of been the deluded but the league is wide open , we could finish top 10 and anywhere above…..
Flip side to that coin is we could lose a few on the spin and slip down the league!
Johno Toon(Quote)
Krul has done real well, but I just feel more confident with Harper
Big Dave(Quote)
we just have to make sure we dont lose to many 😆
Big Dave(Quote)
I fancy villa to go down, shame we aren’t the ones who could send them down!
Wouldn’t it also be funny to see king rafa at
Liverpool! It’s his team that hodgson fighting with! Liverpool fans really get on my tits. Why do Chelsea, Liverpool and arsenal all think they have a divine right to win things and be top of the table?
raffo(Quote)
Krul has done a fantastic job, and made some magnificent saves (especially againsz´t Spurs). His time will come, at the moment we have an embarassment of riches, Fraser Foster is doing a great job at Celtic. The future between the sticks looks good for NUFC !
Munich Mag(Quote)
Despite all the positives I think Harper had a quiet game and Shola went missing for 90 minutes IMO.
lacedaemonian(Quote)
Excellent result , thought Ranger looked pretty poor when he came on – how on earth did he miss that open goal – Think he was trying to hard to impress
4411(Quote)
Fantastic result. Cant wait to see highlights on MOD later!
geordie deb(Quote)
Cause according to the gospel that is sky sports they are the ‘ BIG 4 ‘
Right night all! Off to watch a bit of csi with the wife!
Johno Toon(Quote)
Raffo…it’s really interesting..it’s the psychology of the fans….Liverpool fans still think they are onto something, Arsenal too (to be honest they are allowed). I’m loving seeing Liverpool sinking into oblivion, Rafa splashed a pretty penny too during his time there. If we all look at what NUFC are trying to achieve, it aint all bad. Well done the lads !!!
Munich Mag(Quote)
Fantastic play by whole Newcastle team. Man of the match for me is Barton, very closely followed by Tiote. Thought Harper made some great saves. I see Ranger has being taught to score by Ameobi! LOL
Jill(Quote)
Ross, I have a Mac too. I find Firefox works a lot better than Safari. Hope you get to see the game at 5pm Eastern on FSC.
Jill(Quote)
Jill-Cheers, I was considering downloading Firefox for the sake of the game but then just decided i’d wait till Football Focus/MOTD for highlights.
Also, Shrews-From what I can see, Ravanelli scored a Hattrick on his debut for Boro in a game against Liverpool,opening day of the 96/97 season.
Ross(Quote)
ross – thought you were talking about nufc only … 🙂
shrews mag(Quote)
wooohooo !! Howay the lads !!
Munich Mag(Quote)
Shrews-Nah mate I meant in general! I thought his achievement was THAT impressive! haha..
It’s impressive in it’s own right though. Who’d have had money on a Best hattrick the night? Absolutly mental. Really good win for us, further proof that we have the ability to play some stylish football and leave teams below us exactly where they are, below us.
Ross(Quote)
malcolm macdonald hattrick against liverpool on his debut … 1971 … class
shrews mag(Quote)
Hopefully Tiote will be ok for mackems game after he went off with hamstring trouble, same with Taylor and Jonas went off after carrying a knock for most of the game
We can prob get by without Taylor as Williamson is good cover but we have no one to play like Tiote or Guitierez
4411(Quote)
http://twitter.com/CaulkinTheTimes
hitman(Quote)
McCarthy just said on sky sports that they set out to stop chelsea playing. Typical wolves tactics. Woeful attitude. Perhaps if they worried about how they play rather than stopping other teams playing they might be doing better.
Micky Toon(Quote)
Watched the match on tv over in switzerland with an irish mate. He predicted a best hat trick for a tenner and I took the bet. Best tenner I ever lost.
SpartanChris(Quote)
Comedy…do you think they’re showing it because of NUFC or Stevenage(sp)?
NorCal Toonfan(Quote)
toonsy you will need a bigger server soon
batty(Quote)